Bloody Roar III: Making A Stand
by Tiger5913
Summary: This fic stands in Hudson's Bloody Roar III timeline; I won't give anything else away though, so you'll have read to find out! Hehe...


6/28/01

Disclaimer: the characters such as Kenji, Uriko, etc. belong to Hudson Soft

Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-IV and giving me a really good reason to write this story, and my readers, especially PokeDigi, LazzyQ, Alica Tylon, Deoku, VGuyver, StarryPeach, AKA, Brad Crawford, Arashi, Flyby, and Niteflite.

Special dedication to one of my closest friends, fellow Bloody Roar fan, and 'sister', Alica Tylon, for listening to me bitch before I started working on this songfic.

**Bloody Roar III: Making A Stand**

**By Tiger5913**

_ So… now he knows. What's he gonna do…?_

An unreadable expression flickered on his face before he turned and leapt into the dark cloaks of the night, disappearing from view before another word was uttered. A sudden hopelessness sank into the stomach of the person who stayed behind, and a set of hurt eyes became misty, filling up with tears. He would never know how much damage he had dealt, but maybe he just didn't care anymore, had discarded whatever feelings he'd possessed before.

_Left me… just like everyone else._

The figure rotated in a different direction, and headed down a street, walking away from the clearing as small wet drops slid down two smooth cheeks. Fresh pain struck the youth's heart at his rejection while thoughts of their past 'supposedly' close friendship ran through her mind. Everything involving the duo from their first meeting to the previous week was stored within her, staying in that special part of her memory.

_ He left me too… …Why, Kenji? Why you too? I thought you were the one who would understand, unlike the others…_

Her shadow hung behind, lying against the ground, alone to battle against the light that was dancing around, flashing and gleaming pride off. And just like the owner, the portrayal was by itself, forced to fight the opposition isolated; she could no longer turn her head to the side and see help. Allies were a thing of the past, because in the current situation in the community, everyone had to look out for themselves. Reliance was just a figment of former fantasies, now perceived to be a ridiculous concept, and had now sank its little claws into her being.

_ "As summer bugs fly into fire."_

_ "Oh how corny! You're too young and handsome to talk like that!"_

A leaf whipped into her face and she swatted it away irritably, ridding that thought from her mind as she stalked down the concrete path. Just two weeks ago, they were a contented pair, her running around enthusiastically as usual, and him actually wearing a smile on his face. Around school, they had hung around together most of the time, often perceived as a couple by their school peers, although they had always denied that title.

_What happened…? How did things turn out this way now?_ She wondered quizzically. _Kenji's so cold… even worse than back when he was under that pervert's mind-control influence…_

Their contact had become fuzzy in the last week, when news of the strange zoanthrope killings suddenly came into existence. People around were whispering about something that was called a Beast Emblem, and normal humans spoke of it in disgusted, yet feared tones of voices. Since zoanthropes seemed to be directly involved in the horrendous acts, the leader of the peace-enforcing group, the W.O.C. had taken interest in it. He was in charge of the organization, after all, and felt the need to take action to stop the killer, and solve the case of the "Emblem".

_Why couldn't Mr. Gado have taken care of this instead of Yugo… then Kenji wouldn't have gotten worried and ran off after him like that…_

The female youth's adopted sister was the main representation and spokeswoman of the W.O.C., and had gone along with the leader to assist him. She was also his girlfriend, and formerly a nurse at the local hospital, so she wanted to keep watch over her significant other. He had a habit of being known to be hotheaded at times as well, and if she was with him, she could keep him in line, made sure he didn't make any regrettable decisions. The zoanthropes all depended on the group to solve the problem, but were afraid that everything would get worse before they started to improve.

_ Sister would have been enough… why did you have to go too, Kenji? Don't you trust __Alice__? She takes really good care of Yugo…_

_ …Everyone is always leaving me behind…_

The teenager felt that her situation was unfair; no one had told her anything until a second pre-running off, and even then, she didn't learn enough to be contented. First her own adopted sister went away to help her boyfriend, then her best schoolmate friend followed suit, and finally, her mother wouldn't let her help them. At fifteen years of age, she was restricted from so many things, and had the privileges of a young child, or so she opinionated.

_ Doesn't anyone think that I can take care of myself? I'm not a little kid anymore!_

The Emblem had gotten everyone around her frazzled and tensed, most of them acting insecure and scared of the predicament. She'd tried to convince her schoolmate that everything would be all right, that they would fall in place and peace would once again reign soon. In the past, her assurances had always worked on him, and she usually got him to become more calm, and give her that smile of his which made her heart beat with excitement. The appreciative look for her that would linger in his eyes brought the giggles to her, but he didn't mind them, since he knew she did that to show she liked it.

_ Changes stink… Everytime something changes, I always end up getting cheated or angry because they all affect my closest friends somehow. I don't like changes anymore!_

As she strolled down the pathway, she made a split-second decision and turned in a different direction, heading toward the busy streets. It was getting late, the stars beginning to blink in the growing-late night sky, but she didn't care about that, just continued walking. A particular event conjured up in her mind while she neared a familiar large beige building that sat across the street from her position.

"Do you really **have** to go, Kenji?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? Yes I have to go! It's my brother, you know that! He protected me before, and I should return the favor."

"Alice is already gonna tag along! She can take care of your brother like she did last year with the ZLF causing him trouble, remember?"

"She has to look out for herself, Uriko. Unless you think that Alice should sacrifice her own safety for Yugo's sake."

The young feline zoanthrope peered at him with almost-shocked light brown eyes as she replied; "…You don't think she would do that…? Well, I think so! I have faith in my sister that she'd help others before she saved herself!"

He scowled. "Well of course you'd stick up for her; she's your sister!"

A small gasp escaped from her. "Kenji! You're being really rude, what's the matter with you? You've never been this snide to me before!"

"…Leave me alone," Kenji Ohgami commanded, brushing by her as he was striding away to leave her.

"…No!" She refused, taking a hold of his arm. "Not… not until you tell me what's bothering you to the point that you'd treat your own best friend this way!"

Whirling around all of a suddenly, he startled her, but made her feel frightened when she spied a dangerous expression lurking in his pupils. "You better let me go. I don't want to hurt you, Uriko, so don't force me to."

She thought that he was bluffing, of course, and kept him contained. "You wouldn't hurt me; you're just trying to scare me. Well, I can handle it!"

"…Oh, so you think this is all a game?"

His words were coated with caution, and before she could answer him, the ninja grabbed her wrist, and twisted it in a pressuring way. Rearing back in pain, she clutched it with her other hand, not noticing that he had reached for her forearm, gripping her tightly as he shoved it into her back. Crying out in surprise, she quivered, shivering when his breath fanned the skin of her neck, breathing in a slow, threatening manner.

"This is the real world, Uriko. You had better be careful what you do, because it can mean your life," his shoulder jabbed into her collarbone. "I won't be as nice as some of the other enemies out there."

"Kenji… why are you doing this?" She squirmed uncomfortably, but he didn't relent, nor answer her question. "Let me go…"

"Do you understand what happens when people catch you off-guard?" He asked, ignoring her request. "Do you know what can happen if you get in trouble, and no one's there to help you? How helpless you are by yourself? That's the situation that my brother is in. I know that Alice is with him, but he needs back-up insurance."

With that, he let her go rather roughly, and she stumbled, falling to knock into a wall that was in front of her. A hand shot out to grab hers, and pulled her to an upright stance; she looked up and was surprised to see that her companion was the one that helped her. A curious expression spread over her face, and she sought to ask him why he would assist her after giving such a stern speech, but he quickly turned his back on her.

"Watch your back," he mumbled as he started walking away. "I… care about you, and don't want to see you get hurt…"

Back in her present state of mind, she sighed and thought scornfully, _You__ care about me…? Yeah right…_

A sudden shout made her head snap up, and she suddenly spied a scene that made her eyes widen in shock. Her ears absorbed a terrifying screech and took a step back in reflexive action, but Kenji's earlier words scrolled by through her mind tauntingly. Just then, determination to prove him wrong surged into her consciousness, and she gritted her teeth, inching toward the scenario. Another scream rang in the surroundings, caused by the silver-haired man that securely held something in his hand while he stepped upon the body of a figure lying on the ground.

"This is a dangerous world, Kenji," she whispered. "But I can take care of myself, whether or not you believe it."

A last dying cry emitted from the lips of the poor person, and the attacker straightened up with an estranged laugh. "More souls for the Tabula! Sister dear, I will succeed in what you failed to do!"

"…Hey, you!" The teenager spoke, her voice strong.

He turned around and glanced at her, snorting as he sneered, "Who's this? A child? Run home and play with your dolls, little girl!"

_…This is for you, Sister, Mother,_ she thought to herself. _…And also Kenji. I'm going to prove you wrong, 'dear friend'…_

With her battling techniques tact in her mind, Uriko Nonomura approached the stranger, unsure of his purpose, but just knowing that he wasn't up to any good was reason enough for her. It was time for her revelation, time to show other people that she could fend for herself, and that her spirit would lead her to safety in the end.

**The End**

**Author's Note:** Wow, no Keniko mush! 0.o No hugging, no kissing, no whispered words of love or anything! I'm sure everyone has fainted in shock, hehe. Ah well, this was my first try at a complete angsty Keniko fic, and I just hope that I didn't screw up too badly, heh… This is in the Bloody Roar III setting, and is basically near the ending of Uriko's arcade/story. Hope you readers enjoyed this piece, and sorry for not uploading many stories lately, but I _have_ been busy with work and other things in my life. I won't neglect my fics any longer though, that is, if anyone still cares to read my stories. With all the new authors in the BR section, I'm probably not missed very much. Oh well, please leave a review and tell me if I'm right or wrong!

**With love for my fans,**

**Tiger5913**


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